By the autumn of 1917, the SPAD XIII was used in ever-increasing numbers by the French Air Force's fighter units. For the remainder of WWI, this fearless fighter bipe proved to be a worthy adversary when it was put in the hands of experienced pilots. Kit features finely textured and detailed surfaces, a detailed cockpit with control column and cable runs, two machine guns, a detailed undercarriage, a finely detailed nose and grille, three windshields, finely worked wing support struts and a choice of two different rotating propellers.
The SPAD VII entered service in the summer of 1916 armed with only one
machine gun. By the spring of 1917 it was already inferior to the standard
German fighter aircraft that were equipped with two machine guns as standard.
SPAD chief engineer Louis Bechereau, who before the war had successfully
developed racing aeroplanes for Louis Deperdussin, designed the prototype
SPAD XIII around the Hispano-Suiza 8b engine uprated by 50 hp to 200 hp and
two Vickers 303 machine gun’s with an 800 round magazine. The new aircraft’s
fire-power had indeed been enormously increased, but the aircraft was now bigger and some 200 kg heavier. The maiden flight took place on 4 April 1917. The
test flights produced better flight performance, but confirmed a certain awkwardness during low level flight and problems with the weapons, the engine,
the cooling system and a poor field of view for the pilot. Parallel to the run-up
to production of the new SPAD XIII C.1 further development was delayed until
the end of 1917 due to the many changes to almost every part of the aircraft.
The British Royal Flying Corps took delivery of the first aircraft in November, but
in May 1918, they were replaced by completely different models due to poor
availability. In December 1917, French flying units had more than 131 of the new
bi-plane’s at their disposal, complained constantly however of problems with the
engine and in particular the reduction gearing. After the defects were rectified
the very sturdily built aircraft had good characteristics in the dive and was fast
and agile at altitudes above 1,000 meters (3000 ft). By the end of the war S.P.A.D.
and eight other licensed companies had produced a total of approximately 7,300
aircraft. At this point in time, 80 French fighter squadrons were equipped with
the aircraft. The French aviation industry supplied 893 SPAD XIII to US fighter
units fighting in France. As well as Italy, Belgium also received some of these aircraft. In the hands of experienced pilots, the SPAD XIII was a serious opponent.
Jacques Michael Swaab, as 1st Lt in the U.S. 22nd Aero Squadron, 2nd Pursuit
Group, achieved a total of 10 air victories with a SPAD XIII, that included five
Fokker D. VII.
Sous-Lt. René Paul Fonck was the most successful allied pilot of the First World
War. He is accredited with 75 confirmed victories and over 50 unconfirmed. After
the War ended the SPAD XIII was used by the Air Forces of the USA,
Czechoslovakia, Turkey, France, Spain, Poland, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Greece
and Japan.